Criminal Justice (CJ)
CJ 1000 - Introduction to Criminal Justice Systems and the Administration of Justice - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
Traces the history and philosophy of criminal justice system and the administration of justice, introducing the causes and patterns of crime and criminal behavior and the ways in which criminal justice institutions have responded in trying to solve these social problems; in the context of social justice and the promotion of human rights.
The course is a prerequisite for all criminal justice courses.
CJ 1001 - Career and Academic Exploration - 1 credit
Spring Semester
This course will equip Sociology and Justice majors with the tools to succeed in their major as well as make connections and establish relationships with faculty in the department and student support staff at the College. Students will learn about the major, major requirements, internships, and explore the connections to career readiness and career opportunities. Students will also begin to network with our faculty and upper-class students to investigate career and internship possibilities, and students will begin to develop an understanding of how academic, co-curricular and employment experiences influence career readiness and professional development. Focus will be on career readiness competencies essential to success in the justice professions: such as professionalism/work ethic, oral and written communication, career and self-development (interpersonal skills) and teamwork/collaboration and community building. For CJ, SOC, and TJUS majors only. (Same course as SOC 1001).
CJ 1140 - Quantitative Data Analysis for the Social Sciences - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
This course provides students with an understanding of how social science research is conducted and how one systematically evaluates quantitative research reported in the social scientific literature. Traditional data analysis, including the topical areas of measures of central tendency and dispersion, probability, sampling distributions, and univariate and multivariate techniques for hypothesis testing are examined. Students learn how to select appropriate statistical tests and how to properly interpret results. Utilizing analysis software such as SPSS or MS Excel, students perform analysis on a variety of social science data. (Same course as SOC 1140).
This course meets the General Education First Year Core Quantitative Literacy requirement.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of MATH 1000 or demonstrated proficiency on the Mathematics Assessment.
CJ 2000 - Criminology - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
Introduces the student to the major theoretical perspectives and issues that characterize contemporary criminal justice thinking about the causes of crime, offenders, and victims/survivors; efforts to prevent crime; and the manner in which offenders are punished and/or rehabilitated. Emphasis will be placed on defining crime and the social contexts in which crime occurs.
Prerequisites: SOC 1000, WRIT 1400 and WRIT 1500.
CJ 2018 - Ethics and the Criminal Justice System - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course will focus on personal, organizational and institutional ethics within the three major components of the American criminal justice system: law enforcement, the courts, and the correctional system. It will explore the importance of ethical criminal justice decisions, policies and practices to justice, equality, and public trust and confidence in U.S. justice systems. The decisions of law enforcement, criminalist/forensic science, prosecution, defense, courts and institutional and community correction professionals, and practitioners will be analyzed and evaluated using ethical decision-making skills and models. Topics of authority, power, discretion, use of force, human dignity, punishment, public safety versus individual rights, deception, and noble cause corruption will be examined, particularly when professional standards of conduct, agency culture, and societal norms clash. Using case scenarios, the importance of integrity, professional standards and ethics, and law in resolving ethical challenges one may face as a criminal justice professional will be discussed.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2020 - Criminal Law - 3 credits
Every Semester
This course examines the law that proscribes offenses against society, property, and individuals. It will also explore other crime typologies, including crimes against public safety and national security, as well as public morality, and offenses against public health and the environment. It will explore the origins and sources of criminal law in America. Finally, the course will define critical legal elements of crime and commensurate defenses for such crimes.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2030 - Criminal Procedure - 3 credits
Every Semester
This course will examine how the justice system processes criminal cases, paying special attention to the balance between public order and individual rights. It will explore the origins and sources of criminal procedural rights through precedential case law, paying particular attention to the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments in the Bill of Rights, as well as issues of habeas corpus. It will focus on both law enforcement and the courts as they relate to state powers of arrest, interrogation, pre-trial and trial procedures, and review the appellate process.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2040 - Police Investigations - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course will provide an in-depth examination of the investigative techniques and cases encountered by public law enforcement officers, government prosecutors, defense attorneys and private investigators. Students will be trained in the principles and methods of investigations. They will learn valuable skills including witness and suspect identification, interviewing, interrogation techniques. The course will also review interrogation theory, and critique interviewing and interrogation techniques used historically and today.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2100 - Corrections - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
Critically examines institutional responses to crime and the systems created to sanction criminal offenders, including the history and practice of corrections intended to treat adult and juvenile offenders. Current evidence based best practices, including community based alternatives and re-integration, will be examined. Correctional models from other countries will be explored in the context of social justice and the promotion of human rights.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2110 - Community Corrections: Probation, Parole, and Intermediate Sanctions - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course explores the development of probation, parole and other types of community corrections (diversion, pre-trial release and a range of intermediate sanctions) as alternatives to incarceration. We will examine and evaluate the people, systems, practices, policies and problems of community corrections at the local, state and federal levels. Racial and ethnic disparities in diversion, pretrial release and sentencing decisions will be identified. Challenges to community re-entry, supervision, treatment and rehabilitation of people under correctional supervision will be discussed. Current research and evidence-based practices in sentencing, presentence investigations, use of risk-needs instruments to predict recidivism for probationers and parolees and determining the terms and conditions of community corrections supervision will be analyzed. The effectiveness of community corrections will be discussed and critically evaluated.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2120 - Restorative Justice: Community and Incarceration - 3 credits
Every Year
In this course students will explore how social justice is framed in prison settings in the United States and around the world. Students will explore the limitations of the Western legal system and look at alternatives like restorative justice practices. Students will focus on various meanings of social justice and the systemic contradictions within the criminal justice system that are mandated to punish and rehabilitate. The course will also focus on the moral dilemmas and contradictions that arise when exploring issues of racism, immigration policy, Native American history and incarceration. (Same course as SOC 2120).
CJ 2125 - Resiliency Rising: Restorative Justice, Trauma, Healing and Resilience - 3 credits
This course will explore the trauma field within a restorative justice context including an alternative way to address violence and heal trauma that is driven by relationships not systems. Current trauma theories along with materials that build resilience will be explored. Students will examine how healing past and present traumas, building resiliency leads to more healed communities. Students will explore a process that is grounded in the reality that harm, trauma, violence, happen on the interpersonal familial, community based and structural/institutional levels. Structural causes and conditions that create harm and give rise to interpersonal harms/traumas will be examined. This course will be facilitated through an interdisciplinary framework which combines the head and heart with the aim of cultivating care, concern and compassion toward those impacted by harm, violence, trauma. Students will also develop skills that will allow them to more skillfully deal with the destructive effects brought on by trauma exposure. (Same course as SOC 2125).
CJ 2160 - Urban Life: Culture and Change - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
An analysis of urban social systems with a focus on life-styles and change in contemporary American society. The course will center on ethnicity and ethnic groups, using cross-cultural case studies, data on immigrants, and life-styles and family framework. Emphasis will be placed on strategies groups employ to manage and effect political and economic change in an urban ethnic setting. (Same course as SOC 2160).
This course meets the General Education Diversity requirement.
CJ 2175 - Immigration and the US Justice System - 3 credits
Alternate Spring Semesters
Explores the US immigration system, including past and current legislation, migrant admission categories and the visa system, as well as the role of the Department of Homeland Security in immigration processes. The course will utilize sociological perspectives to examine why people migrate, types of immigrants, and their experiences in that process. The relationship between stereotypes about immigration and crime will be critically examined. Immigration systems in other countries will be contrasted with the US system, including the global impact of out-migration. (Same course as SOC 2175).
The course meets the General Education International/Global Interdependence requirement.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000 or SOC 1000.
CJ 2190 - Transnational Crime and Corruption - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
The engine powering the global economy produces winners and losers, and the winners are not always the ‘good-guys.’ Conservative estimates place the global drug trade at 2-3 percent of total world GDP. To put this in perspective, there are only seven national economies that hold a higher percentage of global GDP. This course will explore the deviant, darker side of globalization forces, where political, economic, and social life intersects with the transnational crime and corruption. Specifically, students will explore the causes and consequences of the rise of criminal states in the post-Cold War international system, its implications for countering illicit trade and transnational crime and corruption, and the impact on the U.S. criminal justice system at the Federal, state, and local levels.
This course meets the General Education International/Global Interdependence requirement.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
CJ 2200 - Criminology Goes to the Movies - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course will examine the history and application of criminological theory through the portrayal of criminal behavior in film. Students will use readings and weekly viewing assignments to reveal how academic and popular explanations of crime have evolved over the past century. Classic films as well as more current fare will be used in this examination. Special attention will be paid to the reflexive nature of popular films as they are both influenced by and influence public opinion surrounding the causes of criminal behavior. Finally, the course will address how these explanations vary based on race, gender, and the socioeconomic status of those being portrayed.
CJ 2204 - Court Processes and Alternative Pathways to Justice - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
A study of the role of courts in the criminal justice system and the administration of justice, including court structure, principles and procedures. Emphasis will be placed on the disparate impact of criminal justice involvement on marginalized and diverse populations, and the alternatives to resolving conflicts and achieving justice both inside and outside criminal courts. This course will cover the role of judicial actors, including the prosecutor, judge, defense counsel and supporting professionals, as well as the jury, the defendant, and victims. Alternative pathways to achieving justice will be investigated, including non-retributive-focused sentencing policies, restorative justice models, diversionary programs, and specialty courts (problem solving and treatment courts). Access to justice for victims of crime and communities impacted by crime will be explored and evaluated in the context of both criminal and civil remedies. The course will compare and contrast the standards, goals and practices in civil and criminal cases. Finally, the course will focus on the promise versus reality of equal justice under law and the role of courts in re-imagining a more just, equitable and inclusive criminal justice system and society.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2212 - Policing - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
This course will examine law enforcement as a social institution focusing on legal, theoretical, and practical issues related to exercising social control with an emphasis on evidence-based practice, human rights, and ethical standards. Models and trends in policing, including initiatives such as community policing, problem-oriented policing, militarization, and technological advances will be explored. The course will also explore the history of policing in this country, and particularly, its impact on contemporary race relations. Students will also have the opportunity to practice report writing, as well as explore risk and protective factors around officer mental health. While the primary focus is on American policing, law enforcement in other societies and in other contexts is examined to understand the limits of formal social control.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2215 - Law Enforcement Bystander Preparation, Ethics, and Wellness - 1 credit
Fall Semester
This is an intensive, engaging, 1 credit course designed to prepare students who are interested in pursuing law enforcement on three highly relevant themes related to policing today: ethics, wellness, and prevention of police force through bystander engagement. This course centralizes the importance of police working with the community, and will help to prepare students to understand police culture. This course will be highly interactive through the use of role plays, case studies, and working through scenarios. Focus will be on students building and improving their own communication skills to help prepare them for eventual authentic community and active bystander engagement. This course will introduce and reinforce the importance of bystander intervention in preventing police abuse, inspired by other active bystander trainings for active police officers. The course is a complement to more classroom-based curricula, and builds upon the foundational curriculum in CJ 2212 Policing, which covers the history of policing in detail.
Prerequisites: CJ 1000, CJ 2212.
CJ 2320 - Victim Advocacy - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course will examine current theories and research relating to victims and survivors of crime as well as the ways victim advocacy and assistance is provided both within and outside the criminal justice system. Students will examine the nature and extent of victimization including the distribution across people, place, time, and space and discuss risk and protective factors for those who are targets of crime. Students will critique how society and the criminal justice system prioritize certain types of victimization or classes of victims over others as well as the role of race, social class, age, gender, and other demographic factors in crime victims’ access to legislators and media outlets. Careful attention will be paid to critiquing victim-blaming arguments/claims. Students will examine the historical role of victims and survivors in the criminal justice process as well as the emergence of the Victims’ Rights Movement. Finally, students will explore victim advocacy and assistance services for survivors of crime. Prerequisite: CJ 1000 or any General Education Social Science.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000 or any General Education Social Science Breadth course.
CJ 2340 - Developing a Foundation for Success: Wellness, Internships and Employment - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
This course is about you—your interests, values, personal qualities, and work interests/workstyle—and the skills and experiences you want to develop to achieve your academic and career goals. You will use internship search strategies, evaluate internship opportunities of interest to you, and go through a mock internship application process by creating a professional resume, cover letter, and reference list. You will complete a career interest assessment, explore, and assess career options, and engage in career research and analysis of required skills, experience, career pathways, occupational outlook and earnings estimates to shape your career goals and plans. This course may not be used to fulfill requirements for the SOC or CJ minor. (Same course as SOC 2340).
This course is a prerequisite requirement in order to complete a for-credit SOC/CJ Internship.
CJ 2350 - Human Diversity in Criminal Justice - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
Examines how cultural and individual human differences intersect with the criminal justice system. The course will explore the interaction of the criminal justice system with issues of race, gender, age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, physical and mental disabilities, culture, religion, and other human differences. The focus will be on how human differences impact all people within the criminal justice system, including victims, offenders, and service providers and how the criminal justice system responds to and/or should respond to human differences, with an emphasis on providing positive solutions and social justice. (Same course as SOC 2350).
This course meets the General Education Diversity requirement.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000 or SOC 1000.
CJ 2402 - Domestic Violence: Family and Intimate Partner Violence - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
Examines the problem of domestic violence from the In this course, students will investigate domestic violence, which includes the scope, nature, and consequences of family violence for individuals and society. Various types of child maltreatment, sibling and elder abuse, intrafamilial homicide, and intimate partner violence will be explored. Students will assess theories of aggression, conflict, and control, and analyze how gender and sexuality, power, and privilege affect family violence. The course will also include discussions of how these crimes are understood and investigated by law enforcement. Students will evaluate social policies for intervention and prevention strategies. (Same course as SOC 2402).
CJ 2450 - White Collar Crime - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course introduces students to white collar crime and potential careers involved in the investigation of white-collar crimes. Students will engage in a rigorous theoretical examination of the causal factors and economic impacts of white-collar crime as well as major theoretical explanations for the occurrence of these crimes. Focal areas include embezzlement, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, bribery, illegal gratuity, and corruption. Students will also explore the history and current application of RICO. Further, the course will introduce cyber-crimes and related Internet offenses. The course material will include discussion of noteworthy, high-profile white-collar crime cases.
Not available to students who have completed CJ 2400.
CJ 2505 - Environmental Law, Crime & Justice - 3 Credits
This course provides an examination and analysis of important federal environmental regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Superfund. The course will explore issues in environmental law and climate change, with a focus on domestic policy efforts to reduce carbon emissions. It examines issues of unequal protection across race, ethnicity and class in various contexts, including air and water pollution, siting of toxic and hazardous waste, and other locally unwanted land uses (LULUs). Students will be asked to reflect how different policies reflect different value choices and how the law may be used as an instrument of social change used to redress environmental injustice. (Same course as SOC 2505).
This course meets the General Education Diversity requirement.
CJ 2510 - Introduction to Cybercrime - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course will introduce students to the ever evolving and rapidly growing field of cybercrime and will review the challenges faced by society and law enforcement in responding to and investigating and prosecuting cybercrime. The course will focus on the types and extent of cybercrimes, how the justice system responds to these crimes, laws and policies that govern cybercrime reporting, investigation and prosecution, and related technologies. Students will be introduced to investigative practices and will learn the proper steps for identifying, collecting, and analyzing digital evidence as part of a criminal investigation.
CJ 2530 - Cyberlaw - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course explores the effect of the internet on the law, and of the law on the internet. We will examine how network technologies can disrupt existing forms of power, laws, markets and social norms in unexpected ways, creating new centers of norms and power. The course will examine how technology brings chaos as well as unexpected order. Specific topics to be discussed and examined include online jurisdiction, cyber-speech, trolling and bullying, privacy and anonymity, defamation, online intellectual property disputes, service provider liability, social networks, cyber security, cyber war, cybercrime and net neutrality.
CJ 2600 - Methods in Social Research - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
This course will critically examine qualitative and quantitative research methods used by social scientists to study the social world. The ways in which social scientists study societies and social issues are carefully examined. This course will challenge students to think more critically about the science of research methods and to become critical thinkers and examiners of data about social life. (Same course as SOC 2600).
Prerequisite: CJ/SOC 1140 or MATH 1150.
CJ 2610 - Forensic Psychology and the Law - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course focuses broadly on the relationship between psychology and the legal system, with an emphasis on how behavioral science research and the practice of psychology are utilized in criminal justice settings. This course includes an array of topics such as criminal investigation, evidence and expert testimony in the courtroom, trial and punishment, and correctional assessment and treatment. The class examines inherent differences between how lawyers and psychologists approach legal issues; the field of forensic psychology and the role these professionals have in the justice system; and what behavioral science research can tell us about the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections) and other institutions involved in social control. This class also incorporates discussion of the importance of diversity and use of ethical practices.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 2620 - Digital Forensics & Investigations - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course will introduce students to the latest digital forensics’ methods being used by investigators to identify, preserve, and extract electronic evidence, retrieve data, prepare crime reports and present information in courts. Techniques and tools used to build and solve cybercrime cases are presented and analyzed. Students will explore case studies to become familiar with cybercrime scene investigation strategies. The course will culminate with hands on cyber investigation simulation.
CJ 2697 - Terrorism and Homeland Security - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
Terrorism incorporates many of the current issues in criminal justice, including but not limited to criminal definitions and origins, public safety versus individual liberties, limitations on governmental responses through the rule of law, the application of the death penalty, racial profiling, cooperation amongst domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies, and transnational crime. This course provides an overview of terrorism as it relates to the history, origins, ideologies, goals, dynamics, and strategies/tactics of terrorist groups and individuals, as well as government responses to terrorism, both at the domestic (federal, state, and local) and international level. The structure and dynamics of terrorism and counterterrorism are explored through the rule of law. Students are required to demonstrate their ability to research a combined terrorist/criminal justice problem, profile, or scenario and argue for an effective counterterrorism policy.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000 or permission of instructor. (Students who took CJ 2695 may not sign up for this course.)
CJ 3008 - Seminar: Selected Topics in Criminal Justice - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
Selected criminal justice and justice administration themes will be explored in a seminar format.
Prerequisite: Any 2000-level Criminal Justice course.
CJ 3205 - Law and Society - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle Examines the origin, development, adaptation, and enforcement of the law in social and cultural contexts, critically considering the role of law as an impediment to or catalyst of social change. The course examines law in our everyday life, including its’ relevance to economic and privacy issues, as well as how law on the books compares to law in action. This course also examines the role of legal actors: judges, attorneys, lobbyists and other advocates, and their relationship to policymaking, as well as in facilitating social and cultural change.
Prerequisite: Any 2000-level Criminal Justice course.
CJ 3212 - Community Policing: Case Studies and Problems Solving - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
Advanced level course designed to develop and apply problem solving skills and processes to specific community problems, such as drug trafficking and youth violence, and consider quality of life issues in various settings. Case studies will evaluate existing community policing strategies and suggest new models of intervention.
Prerequisite: CJ 2212 or permission from instructor or Department Chairperson.
CJ 3300 - Justice and Human Rights Advocacy - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
Explores victimization and human rights violations globally and considers the strategies of human rights advocacy. The course also will focus on the role of victims/survivors, justice officials, and human rights advocates, as they respond to such atrocities as genocide and human trafficking, and attempt to mitigate these problems and promote social justice and human rights. Students will explore retributive, rehabilitative, deterrence-based, and restorative models of justice and consider each from an ethical perspective, in particular how each incorporates or affects the role of the survivor. Alternative resolution models, such as arbitration and mediation, will be examined.
Prerequisite: Junior Standing and CJ/SOC 2350.
CJ 3301 - Youth, Crime and Justice - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course will present the origins, philosophies and evolution of the juvenile justice system in the U.S. Students will evaluate various theories of youth involvement in delinquent behaviors, status offenses and life-course criminal behavior with an emphasis on their experiences with the cultural and social environment. Individual, familial, and social influences on youth experiences in the justice system will be investigated. Students will examine how behaviors come to be labelled deviant/delinquent, compare and contrast the juvenile and adult justice systems, examine contemporary Supreme Court decisions regarding the juvenile justice system, discuss issues of youth waivers to the adult justice system and legal safeguards for the protection of juvenile rights in the system. An analysis of the spectrum of treatment and intervention strategies for court involved youth will include incarceration, community service, probation, alternative sentences and restorative justice.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 3305 - Wrongful Convictions - 3 credits
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, there are more than 2400 recorded exonerations with over 22,000 years lost and an unknown number of individuals who remain in prison for crimes they did not commit. The objectives of this course include: understanding the various causes of wrongful convictions including: false confessions, ineffective assistance of counsel, unreliable witness identifications, junk science, and public corruption; understanding current law and criminological research on wrongful convictions; and applying that law and research to real life wrongful conviction stories.
Prerequisite: CJ 1000.
CJ 3404 - Sociology of Violence - 3 credits
Every Year
Study and evaluation of the major sociological theories and research regarding violence, including interpersonal, family, criminal, and institutionalized violence. Contexts regarding how persons are affected as perpetrators of violence and victims of violence are analyzed. Specific topics include cross-cultural and contemporary forms of violence, and social responses to violence. Analysis to social responses includes prevention, treatment intervention strategies, criminalization, and public policies. (Same course as SOC 3404).
Prerequisite: Any 2000-level Criminal Justice or Sociology course.
CJ 3450 - Criminal Justice Experiential Learning (Internships) - 3 credits
Requires students to work weekly in field placement and to participate in a seminar or conferences with faculty supervisor. Field experience sites are selected jointly by the student and instructor. This course meets the General Education Active Learning requirement.
Corequisite: CJ 3450SM.
Prerequisites: Completion of CJ/SOC 2340 with a grade of C- or better; A 2.5 cumulative academic average; And, no outstanding “Incomplete” in a previous field placement.
CJ 3450SM - Criminal Justice Internship Seminar - 0 credits
This course is required for all students doing an internship in Criminal Justice settings and must be taken during the semester of the internship. Students must arrange an internship with the guidance of the Sociology and Criminal Justice Internship Coordinator. In addition to spending time each week in the field supervised by placement personnel and the faculty member/ course instructor students will integrate that learning with weekly on campus course meetings and assignments, discussing practice based learning, reviewing their field experiences, and documenting their learning.
Corequisite: CJ 3450.
CJ 3640 - Deviance and Social Control - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
Examines people’s behaviors and attributes that others come to believe are deviant. Reviews sociological theories that account for deviance. Explores different forms of social control that define and aim to prevent and inhibit deviance. Analyzes deviance as both a violation of social norms and a possible prelude to social change. The importance of deviance and social control theory to crime and criminal justice will be reviewed. Race, gender, and social class will be considered as factors that influence people’s perceptions of people as deviant and how those people are treated. (Same course as SOC 3640).
Prerequisite: Any 2000-level Criminal Justice or Sociology course.
CJ 3670 - Hate Crimes and Hate Groups - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This course examines the etiology of bias motivated crimes, characteristics and the social ecology that nurtures its existence and persistence. In addition, the course will discuss: various sociological and criminological theories in an attempt to understand the etiology of the violent behavior, its consequences on individual, groups and community; the evolution of bias crime laws and policy in the United States; and the social justice aspect of the topic.
Prerequisite: Any 2000-level Criminal Justice course.
CJ 3900 - Capstone Seminar: Criminal Justice - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
The Capstone Seminar in Criminal Justice reviews the major theories and some of the current theoretical controversies with the goal of integrating theory, research, practice, and social policy analysis. Students are expected to demonstrate their competence by articulating criminal justice theory, comprehending the various methods used in generating and analyzing criminal justice data, and applying this knowledge to criminal justice policy through various written assignments. The course will also help the student prepare for their own professional journey post-graduation, whether that be transitioning to work in the field, professional advancement, and/or pursuing graduate school.
Prerequisites: CJ 2600, 21 credits of 2000 or 3000-level CJ courses and Senior standing.
CJ 3901 - College to Career Transition - 1 credit
College to Career Transition is focused on preparing you for what’s next—entering your professional career and/or graduate/professional school. You will engage with career development and career readiness best practices, coaching, and self-reflection to better understand, communicate and execute your career goals. This is a hands-on class where you learn by doing inside and outside of class. Our journey will focus on your career development, goals and plans starting with career interest and career finder research and analysis. You have the opportunity to practice, make mistakes, ask questions and prepare for a successful job search by understanding the career search process from start to finish, including preparing for a successful job search using job search tools and strategies, networking, applications, customized resume and cover letter, pre-employment requirements such as background checks and interviewing. This course is intended for students in the fall of the final year. (Same course as SOC 3901).
Prerequisite: CJ/SOC 2340.
CJ 3905 - Honors Research Proposal - 3 credits
Spring Semester
In this course students will work on independent Honors projects. Students seeking to achieve departmental honors will work with a faculty mentor in the literature review and development of a research proposal. The proposal will be the basis for the honors study completed in SOC/CJ 3910 the subsequent semester. This is an individually negotiated course requiring faculty approval prior to enrollment. (Same course as SOC 3905).
Prerequisites: B+ in CJ/SOC 2600, 3.3 GPA, second semester Junior or rising Senior standing.
CJ 3910 - Honors Research - 3 credits
Fall Semester
This is the second course in the two-course sequence for students seeking to achieve departmental honors. Students will work with a faculty mentor to implement the research protocol developed in SOC/CJ 3905 Honors Research Proposal. Students will collect and analyze data and prepare findings for dissemination. This is an individually negotiated course requiring faculty approval prior to enrollment. (Same course as SOC 3910).
This course meets the General Education Active Learning requirement.
Prerequisites: CJ/SOC 3905, 3.3 GPA, and rising Senior or Senior standing.